Puri: Residents of Khandiabandh village under Gopinathpur panchayat in Puri Sadar block have registered vehement protests and filed a complaint with Puri District Collector seeking action against illegal liquor outlets and rampant drugs trade in the locality.
A horde of villagers led by Gopinathpur sarpanch Rajkishore Rout has urged Collector Jyotiprakash Das to take immediate measures to check drug trade and prevent its misuse at Khandiabandh and nearby areas surrounding it.
According to the complaint, some anti-social elements have been brewing country liquor at Khandiabandh and Barabati villages for the past several years. The accused have also started peddling intoxicants such as brown sugar in recent times, alleged the complaints.
The villagers have claimed that several youth of the locality were becoming victims of drug addiction and indulging in petty crimes. “Many criminals and anti-social elements have been gathering at illegal liquor brewing units in the village and hurling abuses at the passersby. The desperadoes have been misbehaving with women and girls,” alleged the villagers in their complaint.
According to the villagers, incidents of crime have escalated in Khandiabandh and its nearby areas due to increasing liquor and drug trade. “The villagers have been living in constant fear for the past several years,” said the complainants.
The villagers have threatened to intensify their agitation if the district administration does not take appropriate measures to check illegal liquor and drug trade in the locality.